Whether it is Intrexon, Calysta or potentially Synata Bio, companies have been switching to methane as a source of cleaner yet cheaper carbon, compared to petroleum. The emissions gain is not all that compelling, but it’s at least as compelling as ethanol made from Midwestern corn using coal-fired power and heat. And, it’s the Canary Feedstock: cheep, cheep, cheep. Look for several blockbuster moves on methane to protein, and methane to fuels and chemicals, throughout the year but starting early. And keep an eye on Intrexon, that’s your bellwether. If their project succeeds at scale as expected, methane will be the hottest thing since the iPhone.

But let’s not overlook bio-based methane, which has been powering almost all of the growth in cellulosic fuels in the past 3-4 years. On that topic, Terry Mazanec gave this illuminating presentation at ABLC 2017 in Washington DC, here below.